berry picking

While picking blueberries this morning we were serenaded by a summer tanager. His song had been absent so far from the spring musicals, and I was glad to hear him on the place.
He moved overhead, but stayed out of sight.




Later he swooped down into easy view and I was able to get a snapshot of him singing--it turns out he was waiting for his turn to eat blueberries.

Later we found a patch of blackberries that was ripening and picked enough for a cobbler. Two kinds of berries-- but I think we'll do the blackberries tonight. It has been a long time since there has even been a cupful ripened on the place. We are not certain why there have been so few--deer may eat the young shoots, the drought has stunted the vines...or?--but the bushes have sprung up vigorously in recent weeks---and I have not seen a deer in a while...



We barbecue tonight--have homemade potato salad, and garlic bread--later a blackberry cobbler with vanilla ice cream---a nice start to summer!

killdeer family

The killdeer family was skittering around the drive when we came through this afternoon. There had been a heavy shower earlier, and they all seem to have fared well. Now we need them to escape crows, owls, and wandering "hound" dogs. Gosh, they are so cute--they are all doing a teetering or dipping motion and making little calls to their mother.

fuzzy "rocks"

After weeks of detouring around the nest in the drive, we were rewarded with killdeer hatchlings. Round, fuzzy balls that match the rocks in the road so well that it is difficult to focus
the camera on the correct spot. The parents tried to lure us down the road away from the young--and one parent eventually hovered protectively over them. They are nestled closely together and not moving about--I will try to get more photos when they begin to walk. We have tried not to attract attention to them because I have seen crows flying over this week with young birds that they have stolen from nests.

The garden is coming along nicely after some rain the last two days, and we picked blueberries for the first time this morning. Squash will be on the menu tonight--we picked some very young tender ones for two days now--the tomatoes are still a long way from ripening.

blogging from the swing

We placed a new swing under our live oak. The shade is deep, and because we are on a hilltop there is usually a breeze. The view is of rolling hills and cows grazing in green pastures. Usually there is a blue grosbeak singing along a fencerow--sometimes a painted bunting. Nesting birds are in shrubs and trees all around.

I hung a small windchime from a suppport beam, and the soft notes sing in the wind.

Pots of bright impatiens and petunias glow in the shade, and I have added a jasmine and gardenia for scent. Nectar plants for hummingbirds are next.

My husband has his cell phone and business materials on a table next to the swing and is conducting business from there while he trims trees on the fence row.

My wireless laptop seems to be connecting, and I am writing this from my swing many yards from the house---ahhhh--sweet technology.

late spring

Things move fast in the bird world--I was surprised to find that the cardinal young had already left the nest day before yesterday--they came to the low shrubs that line the front of the house, and I was able to watch them for a while from the window. They look so strange with no tail and gawky legs.

Two bluebird nests have fledged from the houses I hung from pecan trees, and a third house had a successful chickadee nest. The Carolina Wrens have carried what seems like a bale of hay into a potted plant on the baker's rack as they construct their covered nest.

Martins are still busy feeding their young, but were interrupted for awhile this morning by the passover of a Cooper's Hawk which they ganged up on and chased out of sight. Many years ago before I had the plastic super gourds, a Cooper's Hawk landed on the aluminum house and cleaned out the babies from the apartments as they were about to fledge. I hope the gourds are more difficult for them to access--I have heard the owls in the garden at night this week. They like martin babies, too, and perhaps little unwary bunnies. I have not seen the bunny today, but there is also an enourmous yellow lab/greyhound dog that has taken up residence here the last few days, and nothing we have done has managed to make it leave--maybe it likes the taste of rabbit?

The hummingbird numbers are up and so I hung a few more feeders out for them. However, the yard is planted with nectar flowers that they love, so they are not really dependent upon the feeders.

shades of green

A very dry spring was rescued by drenching rains last night and today--over 4 inches! The ponds have come up and the trees are washed clean of pollen, dust and bird poop. Blueberries and blackberries can ripen, and I don't have to rotate 4 or 5 hoses around all day trying to keep things alive--at least for a few days. The rose blooms were beaten to pieces, and the leaves will probably turn all blackspot and fall off (I have a chemical free rose bed), but it will be worth it to see things green up in the countryside.

The killdeer nest survived the rough night--the 4 eggs were still there when we detoured around them, and the cardinal is still bringing food to her young. The bunny was in the yard, but probably flooded out of his spot under the deck--there are lots of good hiding places under shrubs.

The heavy rains greened the resurrection ferns that cover the limbs of the live oaks that shade our yard and home. It is easy to forget they are there since they are usually shriveled and brown between showers--and it's been a long time without rain.

A picture from this morning during a break in the downfall when the rising sun filled the space under the oaks with a golden glow --then it was back to another 2.5 inches of torrents.

bunny tales

A few weeks ago we noticed a tiny young rabbit nibbling grass in the garden. I ran to get the camera hoping we could sneak a few photos before he disappeared and was happy to get a few closeups.

The bunny was not going to be a one time appearance, though. He continues to move about the garden munching on clover and paying no heed to us. Sometimes it is difficult to keep from stepping on him. I still take photos of him, thinking that any time he will disappear --eaten by a hawk or owl. He seems to feed the most in day light hours when activity in the yard is heaviest, and maybe that is his protection from predators.

The aging dog, nearly blind and deaf, pays no attention to the rabbit, nor it to the dog. Not good for a tasty morsel that needs to be wary of canines in a location named Coyote Oaks and spiced with fox dens.

The adventure continues and my camera is filled with bunny photos and films. By the way, rabbits really seem to enjoy clover blooms.